


Thunderstorm

by CrashStack



Series: Fics for Rainb0we! [9]
Category: Five Nights at Freddy's
Genre: Angst, Banister's Scared of Thunder, Banister/Bonnie, Bonding, Closet Family Bonding Time, Family Bonding, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Freddy Knows All, Freddy/Withered Freddy, Gen, Phobias, Trauma, Wade Cares About Banister, Wade/Withered Freddy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-05
Updated: 2020-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:01:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23026690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrashStack/pseuds/CrashStack
Summary: Wade and Freddy are making their rounds on a stormy night when they notice someone's missing from the count. Some searching leads them to the bedroom closet.
Series: Fics for Rainb0we! [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1526105
Kudos: 28





	Thunderstorm

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rainb0we](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainb0we/gifts).



> Me and B0we at the thought of more Wade moments with Banister: **rat screaming**

Wade started pulling the door shut behind him. “Goodnight, dad,” he said, waving. “Just holler if you need anything.”

Gordon smiled, pulling on his headphones. They were thick and fuzzy. “I’ll be sure to. Goodnight, Wade. Goodnight, Freddy.”

Wade shut the door. He winced at the tapping sound at the base of his neck. “What, Freddy?”

_“How come I don’t get to say goodnight?”_

He moved down the hall to Corina’s room. “Because it’s not your turn.”

_“He’s my dad!”_

“Our dad.”

_“Dude.”_

“Hush up and stop tapping me, we have to check on everyone.”

Rain pounded against the roof, a distant boom of thunder echoing against the wood. It had started storming a while ago, but it had steadily grown into a heavy pour with rolling thunder. Wade wasn’t worried about flooding or trees falling on the house, he had checked outside beforehand to see if there were any chances of either happening. The worst of the damage would be to the flower beds outside, but those were easy fixes. He wondered if Faust or the others would help Gordon fix the beds; he was more oriented with putting pieces together, not sowing soil.

He slowly turned the knob to Corina’s room and pushed the door open enough where he could peer in. Corina was asleep under a mound of blankets, Chiquita tucked under her arm with her face buried into the soft yellow fears. Wade wasn’t sure if Chica or Corina had been in control before, but he knew that both had taken a big sister shine to Chiquita. For what he knew Chiquita wasn’t scared of thunder, but he had seen her tag after Corina shortly after the rumbling started.

He closed the door and started down the hall. Everyone else was in the living room downstairs. Nights that the others came over were usually spent trying to stay awake as long as possible while having fun.

_“Hey. Wade, hey.”_

_“What?”_

_“Can I pick the cereal we eat tomorrow?”_

“Seriously?” Wade couldn’t help but say aloud. He huffed. _“Fine.”_

_“Cool. Just checking.”_

The living room was packed. Finnian was lying on the couch, an arm slung around Faust’s waist while the other hung limply down against the floor. Faust was on top of him, breathing even with the occasional snuffle under his chin. Barkley was leaning against the front of the couch, an arm around Grey and his chin against the bear’s temple. Grey’s head was settled on the grizzled rabbit’s shoulder, hand loosely grasping a controller. Frazier was lying across Barkley’s legs, wheezing his snores with his gaping jaw.

Wade shook his head, smiling.

There were plenty of blankets for everyone to have. Wade was careful in draping them over the others, but from the amount of cans and sugar around the couch there was nothing to worry about. Barkley and Grey’s had their hanging from their shoulders, Frazier was covered up to his collarbone, the blanket for Faust and Finnian was settled below the petite bear’s chin; Wade had to keep himself from giving Faust a kiss goodnight. He couldn’t risk waking them and everyone else up. The light from the TV was a thin sheet over everyone.

_“Wade?”_

The grizzled bear was moving slowly back to the steps. _“If you let me sleep tonight, you can decide on the coffee with the cereal.”_

_“Sweet! I mean, that’s cool and all, but someone’s missing.”_

Wade paused at the bottom of the steps. His ears perked, but he could barely hear everyone’s gentle breathing beneath the pounding of the rain and the close thunder. _“Are you sure?”_

The feeling of annoyance was strong enough for Wade to grit his teeth. _“You jerk! Banister’s not there!”_

An owlish blink. “Oh.” Wade shook his head. _“Do you think he went home?”_

_“And leave Faust and Finnian here? And in this weather? Now you’re just being stupid, Wade.”_

Wade rolled his eyes and started up the steps. _“Ugh, relax. He’s probably fixing his hair in the bathroom or something. He barely lightens up when he’s here.”_

 _“You mean when he’s around you.”_ Freddy nudged him inside again, earning a grunt. _“Shouldn’t we check on him? I’m worried about the little guy, I haven’t seen him in a bit.”_

Wade pushed back the twinge in his chest. _“He’s fine, you need to relax. The more worked up you get the shorter of a rest I get.”_

_“Just please listen to me for once and check on him. Please, please, please…!”_

“Fine!" Wade snapped shortly. He glanced back down the stairs in case anyone woke up, but he heard nothing. _“I’m telling you he’s fine, but we’ll check on him.”_

_“Awesome. Cool-io. Super-duper. I knew I could count on you to step in for something I’d totally be doing if it wasn’t your turn right now. You’re such a pal, Wade, always taking in what I say even when you’re a big grump about it.”_

_“Freddy.”_

_“Shutting up.”_

The bathroom upstairs was at the end of the hall. Wade tried to push down the worry that gripped at him when he saw that the door was ajar and the light was off. He couldn’t think of anywhere else Banister was, the bathroom was the only other place that would be where the rabbit out be. Maybe the light was broken in the bathroom and he was just trying to find a bulb.

_“Told you.”_

_“He’s got to be in there, Freddy. Where else could he be?”_

_“Not there obviously!”_

Wade froze to a stop when he heard rustling through his bedroom door.

_“I think we found him.”_

_“There’s no way he’s in my room.”_

_“What, it’s a rat?”_

_“Is there a difference?”_

Wade winced whenever there was a sharp tug at the base of his neck. _“Go check!”_

The room seemed untouched when Wade opened the door and looked over it. The bed was still messy from that morning, the lamp on Wade’s nightstand off, the curtains pulled apart. The rain splashed noisily against the window, dark clouds rolling and hanging low. They didn’t seem to be moving anywhere soon. Wade didn’t mind; the sound was grounding, filled the silence. It was why he insisted on the window almost always being open to hear the spring peepers, summer crickets, and autumn leaves rustling.

The closet door was slightly ajar.

Wade slowly moved, his wheels quietly rolling against the floorboards. He grabbed one of the doors and carefully pulled it back. “Banister?”

The rabbit was pushed back into the corner of the closet. The usually highly perked ears and even shoulders were hunched tightly down and inwards. Banister’s arms were wrapped tightly around his knees, his face buried into the fabric of his pants and fingers digging into himself. His body was quivering like a loose guitar string.

_“Oh, poor bud…”_

Wade frowned, chest twinging. “Banister?” he called again. He dropped into a crouch, wincing at his knees. “What are you doing in here?”

“Nothing,” came the tight, muffled response. Banister curled tighter in on himself. “Go away.”

“It’s my room, you know.” The grizzled bear sighed. He couldn’t be tough right now. “What’s going on?”

Instead of another short response, Banister gave a small jerk of a head shake.

“I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s going on.”

A flash of lightning lit up the room, a crack of thunder splitting the outside after. Wade jumped at the suddenness, trying to take the sound in stride. Banister jerked up with a choked yell, pressing himself further against the wall and squeezing his eyes shut. His trembles became heavier and stronger, his grip on himself tightening.

Wade stared. How could he have not thought of that? Faust hadn’t been petrified of thunder when they were little, but there were plenty of nights where Wade found a little body crawling under his covers and sniffling. The sound of thunder had shivers darting up Wade’s spine now, he couldn’t fully enjoy it anymore, but he wasn’t anywhere near crawling into a corner to somehow hide from the sounds. Why else would Banister be up in a closet when he could be downstairs sandwiched between his lovers?

Wade shifted into a sitting position. He leaned against the closet door, pushing it back until he was against the doorframe. “Is it the sound?” he asked softly.

Banister peered up at him, red eye shiny. “Why do you care?” he bit out.

“It’s not fun being scared. Before you ask: I’m not getting any joy out of this. I just want to help, even if you don’t believe that.”

“Why?”

“What did I just say?”

The rabbit eyed him for a moment. He hid his face in his knees again. “Yeah,” he mumbled. “The sound mostly.”

“Does the lightning scare you at all?”

“Sort of. It’s what makes the sound, so…” He shrugged.

Wade glanced back at the window. The next strike couldn’t be far off. “Faust used to be scared of thunder,” he said. “Not like this, though. She’d crawl into my bed sometimes, cry a little.”

Banister shifted. “Really?”

“Yeah. She never liked admitting that she was scared, always so stubborn.”

“Like you.”

“Oh, she’s more stubborn than me,” Wade responded, snorting. “Trust me on that. I would have to chase her around the house just to put her hair up because she refused to get it cut. She said it was her responsibility and not mine because I was a guy that didn’t have long hair.”

Banister glanced up, thin brow raised. “Did she grow it out of spite?” he asked.

“Honestly? Probably.” He sighed, a faint smile on his face. “But that’s a good thing she’s so stubborn. She stands her ground and isn’t a pushover.”

“Don’t you worry she can’t take care of herself?”

“Of course. She’s my little munchkin.” That should have been obvious.

“Is that why you’re so mean to me? Because you worry that I’m a bad influence?”

Wade bit his lip.

_“You know, you had it coming.”_

_“Hush.”_

The grizzled bear sighed. His ears folded back. “All parents worry about that kind of stuff.”

Even Banister could see through the flimsy excuse. “You’re not hard on Finnian,” he mumbled. His posture loosened, more defeated than tightened with fear. “I’ll be good to her, I promise.”

_“Wow, you really know how to make him feel bad for nothing. Homeslice, just say you’re sorry.”_

_“Freddy, shut up or I’m deleting you.”_ He shifted. “Banister, look-”

The next lightning strike cut him off. Banister’s posture curled and froze again, a strangled yelp escaping him. “G-go away,” the rabbit got out.

_“I can tag in, Wade.”_

_“No.”_ Wade scooted into the closet. _“I’ve got this.”_

Banister couldn’t lock up any more when Wade settled next to him. It was the last thing he was expecting, especially out of Wade. He was dwarfed under Wade’s arm, his size pronounced further as it wrapped around his shoulders. Wade patted his knee, the gentle gesture still enough to rock Banister. The closet felt smaller now that they were sharing it, the space more snug on them both.

“It’s alright,” Wade murmured. “It’ll pass over soon.”

He couldn’t stop shaking. “I-I…”

_“You can comfort people?!”_

_“Freddy, I will leave dad one child short if you don’t be quiet.”_

Banister sniffled. “It’s so loud,” he rasped.

Wade rubbed his knee. “I know. It’s not that nice of a sound.”

“I h-hate it.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“I want M-Mimi.” His voice cracked.

Wade didn’t push with a question. From the break in Banister’s voice, it was obviously a sore subject. “I’m right here, son,” he murmured. “I’m here.”

Banister pushed against Wade’s side, turning his face from his knees into the fabric of the soft hoodie with a harsh sniffle. His cheeks were wet, the light mauve fur darkened and damp. Wade shifted, carefully pulling the rabbit into his lap. He cupped the back of Banister’s head, another hand going to rub up and down the small back, and set his chin on the soft cowlick. Banister’s legs were set off to the side, toes grazing the wall.

“I’ve got you.” Wade tightened his grip just so. He didn’t want to make Banister feel trapped. “It’s alright.”

Banister peered up, tears cresting in his eyes. “A-aren’t you…?” He sniffed. “Small spaces?”

“Yeah. Are you going to leave the closet?”

The long ears pressed against Banister’s back. “No,” he whispered, hiding his face again.

“Let’s make a deal: I keep you company and you keep me from feeling like the walls are closing in. Deal?”

Banister shifted, pressing against Wade. “Deal.”

_“I knew you were a big softie.”_

Wade sighed. “I’m about ready to shut you up.”

Banister jerked his head up. “Huh?”

_“Ah, fu-”_

“No, not you, son,” Wade said hurriedly. He managed a small, sheepish smile. “I’m talking about Freddy.”

“Oh.” Banister eyed him. “He’s here?”

“Unfortunately.”

_“Hey, that’s not rad of you to say!”_

“He still uses old slang. It hurts.”

“Is it that bad?”

“It hurts me physically.” Wade mocked a wince. “Hell, I feel like my entire body’s about to go.”

_“Our body.”_

Banister tried to hide his smile. “Is that why everyone thinks you’re dying?”

“Everyone thinks I’m dying because they can’t handle me and they’re looking for excuses,” Wade said flatly.

Banister’s face dropped a little. “Are you dying?”

“I’m not getting philosophical, son.”

_“I mean, we all are. I feel like that’s a trick question.”_

_“Gee, what gave it away?”_

Another flash lit up the room outside. The roll of thunder that came with it sounded farther off. Still, Banister jumped with a pinched sound, kicking the wall. He dug his hands into Wade’s hoodie.

Wade patted his back. “You know, I used to be a mechanic. I’m sure my munchkin’s told you that.”

“Yeah.” He sniffed. “She talks about you a lot. It’s not just calling you old and stuff.”

“What a sweetheart.” Despite the comment, it was amused and light. “She didn’t come to work with me all the time, so she missed out on a lot of stuff that happened there. You think being at a pizzeria is hectic? Try working there.”

“Didn’t you just fix the robots?” Banister asked.

“Not just them. You’d be amazed at what people can break.” He sighed. “Rest in peace, old coffee machine. That was one thing I couldn’t save.”

“What happened to the coffee machine?”

“What didn’t happen to it?” Wade glared at the wall. “Well, the first incident was because of Jamie, one of my coworkers. He…”

Wade wasn’t sure how long he went on. Banister’s quivering became weaker and weaker until it barely existed, his questions and comments becoming more spaced and quiet. The lightning and thunder slowly moved farther and farther away until they were distant sounds and dim flashes. The rain continued to beat against the window and roof. The sky steadily grew lighter, the angry dark clouds gently glowing to soft greys.

“…so then Frazier punched it.” He scowled. “I didn’t talk with him until Henry got a new one. It was only about a day, but I still didn’t talk to him that entire day.”

_“Hate to put the breaks on you, homeslice, but he’s asleep.”_

Wade paused, blinked. He looked down. Banister was lying against him, breathing evenly. His cheeks were mostly dried and stiff, an ear hanging off of his shoulder. A hand was loosely grasping Wade’s hoodie, the other lying limp. His breaths were tinted with a hoarse wheeze, but otherwise smooth.

“Huh.” Wade couldn’t help but smile. “Sorry about that, son. Didn’t mean to bore you to sleep.”

_“I thought that was the goal.”_

_“It was to calm him down. I didn’t think he’d sleep.”_ He stretched as best as he could with Banister in his lap. He winced at a crack. _“At least he’s asleep.”_

_“Are you doing okay? We’ve been in here for a while.”_

The mismatched eyes looked around. They had been in the closet for a good amount of time. The fear was there, but… _“I’m fine. What about you?”_

 _“I’m chill.”_ A pause. _“Do you want to get up? I’m fine here as long as the rain’s going and the closet’s open. It’s weird, but this is cozy. Just need a campfire and marshmallows. I mean, we couldn’t have a campfire since we’d set off the fire alarms, which I know you fixed, so we’d have to use something else.”_

 _“I’m fine here, too,”_ Wade cut in smoothly. _“And I don’t want to wake him up.”_

The burst of joy in his chest almost hurt. _“You don’t want to wake him! You care! Dude, I’m so happy that you admitted it even somewhat! Like, look at him, how can you not like him? He’s just a little bunny rabbit!”_

“He’s certainly a handful of a bunny rabbit,” Wade muttered.

Banister’s ears twitched. Wade froze and Freddy went silent. He shifted with a small sound, rubbing his cheek against Wade’s chest.

 _“…Why don’t we just try and sleep?”_ Wade suggested after a long moment.

_“Yeah, I totally agree. Sleep sounds tight right now.”_

_“Can you stop with the slang for one second?”_

_“No. You know it’s rad.”_

_“I thought I was fine with being stuck in this body, but I’ve changed my mind again.”_

A small yawn slipped from Banister. His nose tweaked. “Dad?” he mumbled.

_“I’m a dad!”_

_“Hush!”_ Wade gently brushed the fur on the back of Banister’s head. “Right here, son."

A small sound, then Banister settled again.

_“…He’s a good kid.”_

Wade leaned his head back against the wall. He had to fight the yawn. _“Night, Freddy.”_

 _“Oh, we’re sleeping? Cool.”_ A pause. _“I get to pick the cereal tomorrow, remember?”_

_“Yeah. You can pick the coffee, too.”_

_“Dude, yes! Can I tell Banister that you love him?”_

_“_ Goodnight, _Freddy.”_

_“I’ll take that as a maybe. Night, Wade.”_

It was weird feeling Freddy going to sleep, like a part of his brain was quieting down. Wade couldn’t help the small, relieved sigh. Freddy could be a handful, but it was a handful that could ease the rough edges. It wasn’t that much of a bother to have a second head with another perspective, even if it did happen to be annoying at times.

He looked down at Banister. “Night, son,” he whispered. He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to the top of Banister’s head. “Get some rest.”

The rain stopped at sunrise.


End file.
